Last week members of the community attended an information evening convened by John Deckert at the Nhill Noske Silo.

John introduced three guests to those in attendance – Chan Uoy [ from Dimboola & instigator of the Steampunk Festival], Zlatko Balazic [an enthusiastic community-minded engineer from Ballarat with mind-blowing technology ideas] and John McKee [also from Ballarat who basically recreated Zlatko’s ideas and made them a material reality].

The following is a short summary of Chan Uoy’s presentation on the night – “Nhill Silo Heritage Centre’s mission is to become an Australian cultural icon and community asset by creating a world-standard facility.”

The complex is iconic, with a unique story to tell. It is to become a draw card for Nhill and the Wimmera by creating an era-defining experience that becomes a destination.

It aims to become the top tourism attraction halfway between Adelaide and Melbourne and eventually becoming the top cultural attraction in regional Victoria.

Create a hero attraction that will reinvigorate Nhill – Collaboration is the key to raising funds and awareness. With this in mind, the idea is that in conjunction with the Nhill Heritage Group and the Wimmera Steampunk Festival, an opening event for 2025 – The Carnival of Peculiarities is proposed.

Saturday 5th April 2025 – The Opening Evening at the Nhill Silo Centre. The show continues past the opening date to showcase the new visitor experience and raise money through admission fees. This experience is to be the first of many creative shows, so people keep coming.

The idea will be to tell the story of the Noske’s Flour Mill through light and sound. One idea is to create the Golden Wheat Ticket in chocolate bars to drum up enthusiasm. The winners get an invitation to the Opening. Collaboration with Haigh’s Chocolates for this will be that we capture the South Australian market as well as having a Haigh’s Chocolate shop inside as a brand association – the marketing collaborations will bring national attention.

It is important to be bold in the vision as you only have one go to make a lasting impact. The Victorian government is looking out for new outstanding tourism experiences. Let’s win them over! Remember, most people in the Wimmera did not know what an Imaginarium or Steampunk was, and now they do! Visit Victoria is noticing Dimboola and the Wimmera Steampunk Festival. A professional clown in France knew of the Wimmera Steampunk Festival in Dimboola. We can piggyback on each other for marketing purposes.

Light and Sound Show – Start with the Silo’s origin story and finish with the Carnival of Peculiarities in the large Silo. Create a WOW factor so people will travel to Nhill and stay overnight for the experience. Make it memorable. Sell unique souvenirs.

In the daytime, we charge for tours of what the complex looks like in its raw industrial form. At night, the experience transforms into pure fantasy that requires another admission fee. This visitor experience encourages more time spent in Nhill and the region. We appeal to families and the younger generation that want exciting entertainment and escapism. Older people will appreciate the heritage. Have special performances like an orchestra or singers to boost extra funds.”

Following Chan’s exciting ideas of what could be possible, Zlatko Balazic then took the audience by the hand and led them on an enchanted journey of visual images [many animated] Imagine, if you can, a large old black and white photograph of the original Noske brothers animated and one of these gentlemen actually talking about the building of Noske’s Flour Mill.

Following Zlatko’s presentation of his personal history, his credentials and examples of the amazing light, images and models he continues to provide not only for the city of Ballarat but all over the world which John McKee helps build, those present were able to envisage enormous possibilities, many of which they had never before considered.

It was agreed by those who met that night to arrange another time for these visionary men to come back to Nhill so that more folk in our community can become informed and see possibilities for the future. 

This article appeared in the Nhill Free Press & Kaniva Times, 8 November 2023.